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Exploring the Factor Structure of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery in a Large Sample of 8-Year-Old Children in Aotearoa New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2021

Denise Neumann Open the ORCID record for Denise Neumann [Opens in a new window] ,
Elizabeth R. Peterson ,
Lisa Underwood ,
Susan M.B. Morton  and
Karen E. Waldie
Denise Neumann*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara ki Mua, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Elizabeth R. Peterson
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara ki Mua, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Lisa Underwood
Affiliation:
Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara ki Mua, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand School of Population Health, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Susan M.B. Morton
Affiliation:
Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara ki Mua, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand School of Population Health, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Karen E. Waldie
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara ki Mua, the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Denise Neumann, PhD, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland1142, New Zealand. E-mail: d.neumann@auckland.ac.nz
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Abstract

Objective:

The objective of this study was to derive a factor structure of the measures of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox Cognition Battery (CB) that is representative of cognitive abilities in a large ethnically diverse cohort of 8-year-old children in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Methods:

Our sample comprised of 4298 8-year-old children from the Growing Up in New Zealand study. We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis for the NIH Toolbox CB measures to discover the best-fitting factor structure in our sample. Measurement invariance of the identified model was tested across child’s gender, socio-economic status (SES), and ethnicity.

Results:

A three-dimensional factor structure was identified, with one factor of Crystallised Cognition (Reading and Vocabulary), and two distinguished factors of fluid cognition: Fluid Cognition I (Attention/Inhibitory Control, Processing Speed, and Cognitive Flexibility) and Fluid Cognition II (Working Memory, Episodic Memory). The results demonstrate excellent model fit, but reliability of the factors was low. Measurement invariance was confirmed for child’s gender. We found configural, but neither metric nor scalar, invariance across SES and the four major ethnic groups: European, Māori, Pacific Peoples, and Asian.

Conclusion:

Our findings show that, at the age of 8 years, fluid abilities are more strongly associated with one another than with crystallised abilities and that fluid abilities need to be further differentiated. This dimensional structure allows for comparisons across child’s gender, but evaluations across SES and ethnicity within the Aotearoa New Zealand context must be conducted with caution. We recommend using raw scores of the individual NIH Toolbox CB measures in future research.

Keywords

Growing up in New ZealandLongitudinalCognitionLanguageFluidCrystallised
Type
Regular Research
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 27 , Issue 8 , September 2021 , pp. 825 - 834
Copyright
Copyright © INS. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2021

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